Interview: Rich Robinson talks about the Black Crowes and Happiness Bastards

If you're lucky, the right band comes along at the right time. The somewhat improbable birth of The Black Crowes from Atlanta, Georgia in 1990 led to the birth of The Black Crowes, a group of us obsessed with The Stones, The Faces, and all kinds of rock who never forgot to spin. It was a godsend for him. A few weeks after my 20th birthday in 1991, I saw The Crows at the National Stadium and I remember it like it was last night.

Oddly enough, so does guitarist Rich Robinson, who formed Mr. Crow's Garden with his slightly older singing brother Chris in 1984 while still in high school.

“I remember that show in particular,” he insists over the phone from across the Atlantic. “It was the end of an 18-month tour. We had headlined in England, then played in Belfast and then Dublin. I remember the setup was really great and the crowd was amazing. ”

I also remember the Crows' concert at Olympia after that. At least I think I remember a few glasses of chardonnay being taken and the band wandering into Lizzy's “Sarah.” Rich isn't sure about that, but he does admit to an Irish influence in his music and playing.

“I'm friends with the amazing Paul Brady. The Irish approach to music is one of my favorites. When we were kids, my dad and Chris would go to Atlanta to see Paul and Andy Irvin play. He brought me the record. [1975’s phenomenal Andy Irvine/Paul Brady] House. His guitar playing and singing were unbelievable,” he says, quite rightly, before adding that his wife is also half-Irish. Probably the better half.

Robinson the senior had a significant influence on his son's career choices, and Martin recently made a statement when he built the Rich Robinson Series guitar ($6,999, if you're interested) based on his father's old D-28. Rich ended up paying homage to it (Rich named the guitar Appalachian) in his honor.

“He started out as a pop singer like Bobby Darin, then got into Dylan, formed a folk duo called The Appalachians, and also played The Grand Old Opry. When I Was Born. , that guitar was there. He gave it to me after I left, and I wanted to do something for him, and my father, this instrument. And he took great care to stick to what I wanted, which was to honor my father's legacy.”

“His musical taste was really inspirational. He loved Deja Vu, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and 'Carry On.' He remembers hearing it, and even at the time, it struck him how it sounded. ”

this is the hip

When the band had a huge hit with their debut in 1990, they changed their name to the Black Crowes. shake your money maker, it was counter-directional, to say the least. Releasing a cover of Otis Redding's “Hard to Handle” and naming an album after an Elmore James song were far from hipster moves.

“It was totally out of place,” Rich agrees. “Atlanta had its own music scene, but it was indie, alternative, and punk. We had a kind of punk rock music scene, like the Dead Kennedys, the Pistols, the Clash. It started as a band and then REM appeared. I remember hearing “Radio Free Europe'' for the first time in my parents' basement and getting chills down my spine. There's something off-kilter about their demeanor, and we've seen them perform Velvet Underground covers, Big Star covers, Aerosmith covers, and it all makes sense. It was perfect. They had a southern thing, but it wasn't southern rock, there was art in it. That's the kind of South we grew up in, and to this day we're not a Southern rock band. We're from the South and we play rock and roll, but our idols are from England. ”

The story goes that George Drakoulias, who was in the producer's chair on their first two records, brought them into bands like The Faces.

“We met George when I was about 16 or 17. He was looking for a rock'n'roll band to produce and that was about to be us. Rock 'n' roll music is as much Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix as it is Led Zeppelin, the Stones, Bob Marley, Dylan.・And Roses, Poison, this and that are all popular.''I've never been told that. We just made the record we wanted to make. George played us something like “Every Picture Tells A Story.” This is a really great song. ”

And it was written in the stars that I would fall in love with them because they were number one on both sides of the Atlantic the night I was born. Their second album “1992” Southern Harmony and Music Friends We truly integrated all those influences into our own and became even better again.

“When I started writing, shake your money maker I was 17 years old. Chris' lyrics and music were sincere, but without his life experience, he has to rely on his own influences. By the time we arrived at Southern Harmony, we had traveled all over the world. We started playing to 12 people in Atlanta, and one of the last shows of that tour was playing with AC/DC and Metallica in front of 800,000 Russians. The trajectory was astonishing. I came home with different people. Between those records we probably wrote two or three albums and, like you said, when we came to Dublin we were playing 'Thorn In My Pride'. We made that record in 8 days. ”

Boogie Chillen

At this point, Rich is interrupted by children bursting into the room. Robinson has five children under the age of 13. I resist the temptation to say it must be “unwieldy”, but I deeply regret it.After I asked if he had any fantasies, he continued southern harmony as their best record.

“There was a focus and a flow. Then we headed off to a road trip that wasn't interested in commercial things. We made a concerted effort to make a studio-sounding record. amorica [1994] And it took a year. There aren't a lot of choruses, but there are a lot of great moments.There's some great shit too 3 snakes and 1 charm [1996] it's one of my favorites. southern harmony It's everything, and it encapsulates who we are as a band. ”

1999 by your side This sounded like an attempt to regain some of the ground that might have been lost, and it seemed successful, at least from an artistic standpoint.

“We wanted to make a great rock'n'roll record. It's much more commercial and focused. lions [2001, after a period touring with Jimmy Page] It was a left turn, but I really liked it. Some hardcore fans hate it, but it's a really good song. ”

Crows murder case

rollin & tambourine

The band was on hiatus from 2002 to 2005, but reunited in 2008. war makeup Ranked in the top 5 in the US. great double, Before frost…until it freezeswas recorded over five days at Levon Helm's home in Woodstock and arrived a year later. I told Rich that it sounded like a beautiful atmosphere, but I was totally wrong.

“It certainly wasn't a good atmosphere. There was a big fight between me and Chris.”

This sparks a sibling rivalry between the Crows' top two men. They even made the oasis stop and take notice.

“I love Oasis. It was one of the most fun tours I've ever been on.” [2001’s appropriately named Tour Of Brotherly Love]. At the time, we had people lined up against us, including tour managers and band members. We were doing something and Chris showed up late and we got into it. The tour manager said Noel and Liam were listening outside and were laughing because we were taking it seriously. We got through it, finished the tour, and then broke up about 15 times. ”

Rich issued a press release in 2015 that the band had finally disbanded over demands from Chris regarding the band's stock, including that longtime drummer Steve Gorman give up his stock and become a “salary employee.” It is said to belong to

“There were a lot of negative effects,” Rich says. “People coming into Chris' ear. There was some greed. It was time to do it. I was the one who said, 'Fuck you.' I'm not waiting. ”

Fast forward to 2019 and all Crow fans were surprised and delighted by the reunion announcement. A mutual neutral friend helped.

“My other band, Magpie, had become really toxic and I didn't want to get involved in that. I've always written songs with Chris' vocals in mind. I told Greg that I wanted to hear Chris on these songs that I had. Greg said that Chris said the same thing. Also, kids are kids, my kids. was asking why I didn't see Uncle Chris and his uncle saying the same thing. We happened to meet in New York and started talking, and things started happening.”

“Since we split up with promoters, we've been offered tours every year, so we could have grabbed some money, but we just weren't ready. If we were going to do this, we had to put our relationship first.” We cannot be responsible for someone who is bent on causing chaos and problems between us. Therefore, new management, new band members if necessary, etc. And I hired a new agent. It's the most adult and fun thing I've ever had.”

my mojo is now working

The band toured on the anniversary shake your money makerAfter a pandemic delay, we cover the EP, including a true rock stop at Dublin's 3Arena. 1972, released in 2022, and finally a new single released in January of this year. “Wanting And Waiting'' has Rich's big riff, you can almost hear the backing singers yelling “ooh''s and Chris spinning his mic stand, but it's even the best of the brilliant new album. do not have. happiness guy.

“COVID-19 hit. I wrote a song and sent it to Chris saying, 'Damn, I gotta do something.' When we went into the studio, we wanted a producer like Chris. I had very strong feelings about how I wanted our music to sound.We met a lot of people and really liked Jay [Joyce who’s worked with everyone from Eric Church to Emmylou Harris]”

Chris describes it as a love letter to rock'n'roll, and on this point at least the brothers agree. According to him, the barnstorming opening song “Bedside Manner” was written in about five minutes.

“That happens with some songs. 'Sometimes Salvation' took me five minutes to write. “Wise time'' passed. Things like “non-fiction” took a long time. “Bedside Manners'' just came out. ”

“Rats And Clowns” rocks like a rowboat in a typhoon and sounds like a nod to the immortal “DC.”

“When I was a kid, I was like, ‘Fucking riffraff,’ you know?”

Indeed, and I know.

“The first record I bought was If you want blood, get it, that cover with SG that pierces Angus's body. What kid doesn't think that's the coolest thing in the world? Is that band doing their best? There is nothing better on earth. If this record is a love letter to rock'n'roll, then Rats and Clowns is a love letter to AC/DC. ”

Country star Laney Wilson adds beautiful vocals to the ballad “Wilted Rose.”

“We did the CMT Awards last year and a lot of country bands liked our records, like 'She Talks To Angels.' Lainey was there, too, and she was a really authentic She was a nice person with a voice. Jay was producing her record, so I thought it would be cool to have her sing with Chris. Their voices meshed really well. .”

“Flesh Wound'' is a throwback to the kind of stuff that would have been played at Mr. Crow's Garden.

“It’s like X.” [80’s Californian punks].I was aiming for a full billy zoom [X Guitarist] thing. It has a great chorus that I don't think you would have ever expected us to put out. ”

My own favorite “Follow The Moon” is Liftastic.

“There are a lot of contradictions in this. It reminds me of Grease Band [Joe Coker’s old backing group], the interaction between these two guitarists. If you add a counter riff to that, it sounds a bit like Zeppelin. ”

Mana. The album ends with another nice slow song, “Kindred Friend.” The song is certainly about two brothers, with lyrics like “Let's stop pretending and write our own ending.”

“My contribution has always been in my subconscious. Chris heard my work and was inspired to write something different. It could be about that, but it’s more like Chris Question,' thought Rich, covering his butt.

A very generous publicist gave me his time, so I'd like to give you a final word. There will be tours, but no dates in Ireland. What are you talking about?

“There's a lot going on until we get back and do a proper tour.”

We'll see the Crows in the future, right?

“of course.”

If you're even semi-interested in rock and roll, don't miss that record or this record.

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black crowds new album happiness guy is out now on Silver Arrow Records.